Agriculture and FoodDevelopmentEconomicsEducationEmploymentEnergyEnvironmentFinance and InvestmentGovernanceIndustry and ServicesNuclear EnergyScience and TechnologySocial Issues/Migration/HealthTaxationTradeTransportUrban, Rural and Regional Development

Are disadvantaged students affected by the socio-economic profile of their school?

Equity in Education

Breaking Down Barriers to Social Mobility

In times of growing economic inequality, improving equity in education becomes more urgent. While some countries and economies that participate in the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) have managed to build education systems where socio-economic status makes less of a difference to students’ learning and well-being, every country can do more.

Equity in Education: Breaking Down Barriers to Social Mobility shows that high performance and more positive attitudes towards schooling among disadvantaged 15-year-old students are strong predictors of success in higher education and work later on. The report examines how equity in education has evolved over several cycles of the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). It identifies the policies and practices that can help disadvantaged students succeed academically and feel more engaged at school.

Using longitudinal data from five countries (Australia, Canada, Denmark, Switzerland, and the United States), the report also describes the links between a student’s performance near the end of compulsory education and upward social mobility – i.e. attaining a higher level of education or working in a higher-status job than one’s parents.

Are disadvantaged students affected by the socio-economic profile of their school?

This chapter examines the socio-economic segregation of disadvantaged students across schools and changes in this segregation over the past decade. It quantifies the disparities in student performance due to the socio-economic profile of the schools that disadvantaged students attend. The chapter identifies certain school policies and practices, and student behaviours that may mediate the relationship between the socio-economic profile of schools and student performance. It concludes by analysing the relationship between socio-economic diversity in schools and student performance.